Astoreth does Ferelden Part 8: Honnleath
by Natmonkey
Summary: Follow Astoreth as she traipses through Ferelden and shares her thoughts and wonders. In this instalment: our heroine and her friends cure the arl of Redcliffe, after which they meet a guy eager to get rid of something.
1. Bottles of Ale on the Wall

_Welcome to part 8. Thanks for reading this and any previous parts. I hope to surprise you again here. _

* * *

Here we are again, Redcliffe Castle. Thankfully only a few days away from the temple, so we are not too worn out from our journey. Wynne gave us a bit of a scare; after we'd dispatched another band of darkspawn, she collapsed. Given her age, I thought she'd died, but luckily she immediately got back up. The woman brushed off any questions I asked her, and promised to explain everything in camp. And what an explanation it was. Apparently she died during the troubles in the tower and was possessed by a benevolent Fade spirit. That is what keeps her more or less alive. We meet some peculiar people, to be sure.

I truly hope this little pinch of charred human remains will cure the arl. If it's not, well, I am going to be very angry. We went through a ton of crap to get it. The arlessa squeals in joy as soon as I hand her the pouch and runs upstairs to administer them to her husband, bann Teagan following her closely. I wonder how that will work. Will the Ashes be sprinkled onto him? Mixed with liquid and made into a potion? Poured down his ears? Yuck.

Everyone is anxiously waiting for the results, but frankly I have better things to do than just pace around the room. I poke Alistair in the ribs. "While they are busy, I'm going to check up on Jowan, okay?" He nods and continues worrying, frantically running a hand through his hair. Not even a response when I squeeze his shoulder.

Walking down the stairs that lead to the dungeon, I hear a high-pitched man's voice singing. "Thirty-nine bottles of ale on the wall..."

Well, I guess one has to do _something_ to prevent death from boredom. Jowan doesn't even notice me at first. Ha, he's grown a scraggly beard in the time I was away. Not pretty. "Take one down..."

"Pass it around," I chime in.

My friend stops mid-sentence and jumps up. "Tori!" He sticks his arms through the bars and I hug him as best as I can with all this metal in the way. "You found them, didn't you?" His face takes on a smug expression when I nod. "See, I told you so."

I roll my eyes. "Rub it in, why don't you?" As per his request I tell him about our adventures in Denerim, Haven and Andraste's temple. Especially the dragon seems to interest him, but I leave out the encounter with the spirit that was mimicking him. That would just be weird. "Anyway, I think I may have found a way to save you," I finish my storytelling.

"Save me? How?" Jowan looks at me with a look of both interest and worry on his face.

I clear my throat. "Well, there are two routes I can take. The first is the Right of Conscription. The Grey Wardens may recruit anyone into their order, no matter their station, crime, or whatever. That does mean you would eventually have to join us."

"What do you mean, eventually?" He rests his arms on the bars, listening intently.

"Neither Alistair nor I know exactly how the initiation ritual works. Chances are we can only initiate you when we get to the Orlesian Wardens. And the second option is well, lying through my teeth to the arl." I curve my arms around the quite prominent bump my child now forms. "I could try saying this baby is yours, and put on a tearful display of how it shouldn't grow up without a father, boohoo, that sort of thing. So what do you say? Join the Grey Wardens, or live a lie?"

My friend shakes his head and smiles sadly. No doubt his blushing is caused by my suggestion to pretend he's impregnated me. "Neither. I appreciate everything you've done for me, but I just... Well, I don't want to walk away from my crimes unpunished."

"So you..." I swallow and stare at him in disbelief. Suddenly my throat is very dry. "You would rather die than fight evil with me?" Maker's breath, and here I thought I'd finally come up with a way to save my oldest friend. Still, I cannot force him to do something he doesn't want to do. Sigh. "So be it, then. One other thing though." I grasp his hands and hold them firmly. "I'm so sorry I failed you. If I'd just done more to help, you and Lily could've been together, milking cows and stuff. And..." My voice breaks and I can feel wetness upon my cheeks. "I said you ruined my life, but in fact I fucked yours up too. Please, _please_ forgive me."

"What? No, don't say that." Jowan releases my hands and begins gently wiping away my tears. "None of this is your fault. If there is anything to forgive, I've already done so. Don't cry."

I sniffle. "If you say so. Crying won't change a thing anyway." Roughly I wipe my face with my sleeve. I'll get over this guilt eventually. Fake Jowan was right: it's no use thinking about what could've happened. This is reality and nothing will change it.

"You've grown a little while you were gone." With a gentle smile on his face he lays his hand upon my belly. I can feel the warmth of him through my robes.

"Yes, I was gone for what, a fortnight?" It was hard to keep track of time with all the travelling and fighting we did. One day would just blur into another.

Jowan clicks his tongue. "Try three weeks. I've been really lonely without you," he says pitifully.

"I missed you too." It's good to see him again. Three weeks, damn. "What have you been doing while I was away?"

"I went through my entire repertoire of songs, played tic-tac-toe with myself." I notice a great many tic-tac-toe grids, scratched into the wall. "But even always winning gets boring after a while, you know?" He chuckles with a sparkle in his eyes. Obviously he is delighted to see me. That, or he's grateful for someone to keep him occupied.

While Jowan continues asking me questions about the high dragon we encountered, footsteps echo on the stone steps and soon the arl's brother appears. He greets me with a polite nod.

"My brother has recovered and wishes to see you." He pulls a key ring from his belt. "You and your friend."

I nod and make my way upstairs while Teagan opens Jowan's cage. The blood in my veins has been replaced by cold water, knots in my stomach. This is it. There is no way the arl will let him off easy after the things he's set in motion.

* * *

This is the first time I've seen arl Eamon awake. He looks a bit shaky, but otherwise he seems to be fine. He immediately insists on offering me a reward I don't really need or want, but telling the man no would be very impolite. So now we are champions of Redcliffe and the proud owners of a new shield with the town's symbol on it. I cannot contain myself from joy. Yay, and stuff.

The arl wants to call the Landsmeet and have all the Fereldan nobles come together. They are to vote on who they want as their king: Loghain, or... Alistair. This earns Eamon no small amount of sputtering from my colleague. He obviously does not want to be king; not that I didn't already know that. Despite his reluctance though, I'm sure he would make a fine king. He is a good guy. Eventually he just gives in to the man's wishes. Better he be king than Loghain. While the arl is going to be busy sending messages to all the attendants of this Landsmeet, we will be pursuing the treaties.

When Jowan is brought before his would-be victim, I'm having trouble not to flinch. This is going to hurt. His crimes are recounted, he makes no objections and says he's sorry, and finally the arl asks me what I think he should do with him. Well, let him come with me, of course. But no. If my friend wishes to lay down his life, then so it will be.

"I say let the Circle decide his fate." My voice sounded remarkably steady for someone who'd like to cry and beg. But I suppose I'm done crying. No more crying.

The arl nods contentedly. "True enough, and wisely said." He turns to his son's former tutor. "Jowan, I hereby turn you over to the Circle of Magi. May the Maker have mercy on your soul."

"Thank you, my lord," he says meekly. "Goodbye, Tori." He smiles at me, a hint of sadness but mostly resignation in his gaze.

When the bann moves to take him away, I raise my hand. "Hold on a moment. Won't he need an escort to the Circle's tower? I'm sure all of your men are needed in helping Redcliffe rebuild." I flash the arl my most charming smile. "Perhaps _we_ could take him there."

The older man scratches his beard in contemplation. "You have the right of it. Fine then." He nods. "You have my permission to escort your friend to the Circle."

"Thank you, my lord." I briefly dip into a bow. "Then we shall depart right now."

An unexpected sound of laughter comes out of the arl. "Nonsense! Today you'll be our guests and we will celebrate." The arlessa, who is standing next to him, grabs a hold of her husband's arm and looks up at him adoringly. Love is in the air. I still think she's a bitch though, no matter how sweet she may look now.

"Great." My stomach growls loudly enough for all to hear. "I was hoping you'd say that, my lord."


	2. Hot Bath

The banquet the arl gave in our honour was even more lavish than the one his wife had provided us with the last time we were here. An entire wild boar, beef, chickens, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, various braised vegetables and desserts, oh the desserts! In fact I ate very little of the savoury things and stuffed my face with the cakes, pies, puddings and fresh fruits. Chocolate, whipped cream, strawberries, peaches, oranges, apples, grapes... Now all I need is a sexy man whose body I can eat this off of and I'm set.

You know, I had expected Alistair to complain about my decision to escort Jowan back to Kinloch Hold, but instead he is occupying himself with devouring half of the roast boar (an overstatement, but not by much). Perhaps he will talk to me about this later, or perhaps he understands that the guy is my friend, has been most of my life. The Warden seems to be over the whole debacle with his harpy sister and is back to his usual cheery self. I am most grateful for that. It's sad that Jowan was sent back to his cell, not allowed to join in our revelry. So I'm now collecting bits and pieces of this fine food; I may bring them to him when all are asleep.

My full belly makes me all sleepy. So while the others continue eating, drinking and being merry, I excuse myself to soak in a hot bath for a while.

* * *

Hmmm, now this is living. I've been sitting in this bath for over half an hour now, the hot water infused with a few drops of my vanilla and lemon oil. So relaxing and fragrant. Back in the tower I never took my time bathing because of the rumours. Some of the girls were whispering about templars watching us while we bathe and I figured it was true. It just made sense. After all, for all they knew we were practicing forbidden magic in the tub. Better safe than sorry, I suppose.

But here I am all alone, free to do whatever I please without anyone watching. Knowing me though, I would probably enjoy some unknown man watching me bathe, watching me run a soapy sponge along my skin. Ah, thinking of that makes me so hot. I'm a bad, bad girl. My by now very trained hands slide down and briefly squeeze my hard nipples. The right one descends my body even further, caressing my belly to say hi to the baby on the way and ending up between my legs.

My lips are already swollen with excitement. Even in the water I can feel I am very wet. Well of course I'm wet, what with taking a bath and all, but there is an obvious difference between water and the slick juices from a woman's... honey pot. Strange how I have absolutely no problems saying words like cock and fuck, but cunt is still too embarrassing. Someday, maybe.

I slowly trace circles around my button with my fingers. This time I am in no hurry to come; I'm going to try pleasuring myself the way Daveth (I'm just going to go with that) did it with his tongue. Just thinking of the man's gorgeous body makes me dizzy. He literally looked tasty, with that caramel-coloured skin. If he had survived his Joining, I would probably have run into his arms immediately after the thing with Cullen. We would have shared a tent, made love every night and every free moment of the day too I bet. Or I could've been the one who was killed by having a bad reaction to darkspawn-juice. No, never; I'm far too lucky for something like that. Too bad Daveth wasn't. Making love to him every day sounds just fabulous.

Suddenly the tension that has built in my centre releases, sending pleasure through my entire body. Moaning softly, I slow the movements of my hand and stroke the sensitive side of my breast to intensify my climax. No, _this_ here is living. I could just do it all day long.

After a few more orgasms, the water has cooled enough to no longer be pleasant. Look, I'm all wrinkly! I step out of the tub and dry myself off with a towel before wrapping it around me. The thing is barely large enough to cover my behind. Let's hope I don't meet anyone on the way to my room.

But of course I run into Zevran, of all people. Shamelessly he looks me up and down, staring hard at my towel as if he is trying to make it come off with sheer willpower alone. "Good evening, Warden." His voice has taken on that lustful tone it does whenever he is chatting up a woman. No doubt my scantily clad appearance doesn't help me at all.

"Hello Zevran." I try to quickly walk past him, but his hand snatches my wrist and stops me.

His full lips stretch into a naughty-looking grin. "What is your hurry? Why don't you stay here and... _speak_ with me." Don't think I didn't hear that pause, mister. Or the suggestive tone when you said "speak".

Well, maybe it's because he has tried to kill me, maybe it's because I'm dressed in nothing but a towel, but I just don't trust this man. I don't care how handsome his face is, how beautiful his eyes, how kissable his lips, how much I would like to touch those pointy ears; I simply don't trust him. "My hurry is that I would like to get dressed. But fine, I'll humour you: what would you like to talk about?"

"I happen to like you just the way you are." With a low chuckle Zevran moves to stand a little closer to me. "No excess fabric."

I sigh and roll my eyes. He pulls these tricks every time, and not just with me. Morrigan, Leliana and even Wynne are getting sick of his constant advances. "Great, thanks. Was that all?"

"If I may be so bold..." His fingers brush the curve of my belly. "Whose child is this? Is it Alistair's?"

"For crying out loud! Why is the notion of Alistair impregnating me so widely accepted?" I fold my arms before my chest and glare at him. "Seeing how it is in _my_ womb, you can safely assume that this baby is mine."

The former Crow throws back his head and utters a hearty laugh. "Yes, I gathered that. But who, pray tell, put it in you?" I must admit that his accent is thoroughly exciting, even with his annoying ways.

"A man did." I can be annoying too when I want to be. Better yet, I bet I can also be annoying when I _don't_ want to be.

Zevran sighs exasperatedly, probably put off by my evasive answers. I actually stole this from Sten: when I'd asked him what he was doing in that cage in Lothering, he said he was sitting. Yeah, I saw that. "Fine, Warden, be that way." A lightly insulted tone has crept into my companion's voice. "Goodnight then." With a last pout in my direction, the handsome elf walks away.

Oh, he is _good_. I actually feel a little guilty. But fuck that, I'm not going to feel guilty over not telling my would-be assassin who fathered my child. I'm going to go to my room, moisturise my skin and have a good night's sleep. Bringing those snacks to Jowan will have to wait until tomorrow.


	3. Lemony Fresh

I am awakened by my door opening with a barely audible creak. It would seem that constantly being on the lookout for enemies has made me paranoid, sharpened my senses. I quietly slip out of my bed, dagger in hand. It doesn't matter that I'm almost naked; I would rather be naked and alive than get killed while hunting for my night shirt. Although he hasn't tried anything, I still fear that Zevran might try to kill me again. Call me paranoid, but it's plausible.

Silently I position myself beside the door opening and wait until my unknown visitor enters. I knew my sneaking around with Cullen would come in handy eventually. When the person comes in, I curve my left arm around their torso to lock their arms in place and hold my dagger up to their throat. "Got you now, bitch!" I hiss. From the feel of it, this is a man. But it's not Zevran; this one is taller and thinner. Oh boy.

"Eek!" my friend squeaks anxiously. "I surrender, have mercy!"

I quickly release him. "Jowan? Don't tell me bann Teagan forgot to lock your cell again."

"No..." His voice sounds cautious as he rubs his throat. "He did. But when I leaned against the door, it swung open. The lock mechanism is probably broken."

"Right. Let me take a look at you." I gently pry his hand away and inspect his throat. There is a shallow cut, a tiny bit of blood trickling out. The few nicks on his face are worse. "Eh, you'll live."

He scoffs. "Not for very long, probably. Who in the Maker's name were you expecting?" His eyes dart nervously toward the blade I'm holding.

"Someone with intentions that would be detrimental to my health." I deposit my dagger on the desk.

"Oh, good." My friend chuckles briefly. "For a moment I thought you were into very cruel bedroom games."

"Do I look like the kind of girl who slits her lovers' throats?" I narrow my eyes and shoot him a mock glare.

"Well no, of course not." My previous attack apparently forgotten, his pale blue eyes travel all over my body with unveiled interest. "But you _are_ naked."

"Now that's not true. I'm still wearing my panties, see?" I point to them conspicuously.

Jowan drapes his arms around my waist. "That could easily be remedied." His voice has dropped a few octaves, bringing back memories of the last time we met.

"Oh my. Looking for another re-enactment of your last request, are we?" I rest my arms around his neck and pull him a little closer. There is a floral scent around him; only now do I notice his hair is damp. He must've bathed and shaved before he came here. Sensible. No girl would let a man who went unwashed for a long time into her bed. It's funny though; I don't think I've ever seen him without any stubble on his jaw since he was fifteen.

Eyes fixed on my lips, he says: "Maybe." Slowly, ever so slowly his face comes closer to mine.

"You know, you smell especially girly right now." I can't help it; teasing him is in my very blood.

For a moment he looks puzzled, then begins snickering. "Oh really? Well, you smell like..." His face feels uncharacteristically smooth as he buries it in my neck to deeply breathe in my scent. "Like... lemons." All of a sudden he sounds so very sad, the arms around me gone.

Uh oh. "Hey, what's wrong?" Did I do something?

"Lily always smelled lemony fresh." He sniffles. "I miss her so much."

Of all the scents I could choose... "Oh, damn it. I'm sorry. Come here." I guide him to my bed and let him sit down. "You get comfy. I saved you some food from dinner." I retrieve the greasy bag from my pack while he takes off boots and shirt, and get into bed with my friend, who looks utterly miserable with the sheets pulled up to his chin. "Come on man, talk to me. Asparagus?" I dangle the now limp and unappetizing-looking vegetable before his nose.

His face crumples in disgust and he shakes his head. "No, thanks. On both counts."

"All right." I dump the food on the night stand, open my arms. "Need a hug?"

Jowan nods and allows me to embrace him. His head rests on the slope of my breasts, his arms loosely around my waist. I can hear and feel him sniffing, muttering a single word under his breath over and over again. The name of a certain flower. And the name of a certain girl he loved and betrayed. His voice sounds as if he's far, far away from here.

There isn't much I can do for him, so I just stroke his hair until he suddenly sits up. His eyes are looking straight through me, as though under some kind of spell. "I love you, Lily." He speaks slowly and emotionally, caressing my cheek with a touch so gentle it makes me want to weep. There is no way, _no way_ that he could confuse me with her, even if it were completely dark. I don't know exactly what's going on, but I think it best to just cooperate. That's what friends are for, in a way. For comfort. And if for that he needs me to be Lily, well...

Our lips meet for a long kiss, sweet, gentle and loving; his arms wrap tightly around my body to hold me close. After a few moments he releases me. "I'm sorry," he whispers sadly. "So sorry, Lily." His eyes are still distant and vacant. I'm not sure if I should say anything. Better that I do not, since my voice doesn't resemble hers by a long shot.

Not reacting to my silence at all, his mouth latches onto my neck to cover me with tiny kisses. I can feel his hands all over me, finally halting their caresses to peel off my panties and apparently bare himself as well. Slowly he pushes his erection into me, muttering apologies and declarations of love into my ear. I'd forgotten just how big he is and how intensely fucking good he feels inside me. Being stretched out like this makes me want to cry out, but it will only ruin the illusion. So instead I bite down into my knuckles to stifle the sounds that would otherwise come pouring out of me.

His thrusts are slow and gentle, treating me like a delicate flower. Which makes sense if your name is Lily. Is this the way he would make love to her? It feels so warm and tender.

Warm droplets fall onto my face and I look up to find him still staring through me, crying without a sound. "Forgive me, my love. I betrayed you. Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me..." Jowan continues speaking this phrase over and over and over again, never stopping his thrusting motions. I can't restrain myself; I have to say something. With the state he's in, he probably won't even notice the difference. "Maybe you should lay off the chocolate a little, my love," he mumbles absently, his hand on my belly. Or maybe he will.

"I forgive you, dearest." My hands reach up to cup his face. What else should I say? "The time has come for you to move on."

He nods slowly, a sad smile appearing on his face. "I will, love. Thank you." With that, he bends down and kisses me tenderly. His body stills and judging from the throbbing deep within me, he spends his seed. His climax is accompanied by no more than a soft groaning sound. He detaches his mouth from mine and presses a kiss to my forehead. "Goodbye, my Lily." The sadness in his voice has disappeared to be replaced with something else. Closure, perhaps. I don't rightly know.

As he rolls off me, I move farther away. From the way he is breathing, I can tell he fell asleep almost immediately. His thin frame is curled into a foetal position. Good. I slip out of bed, dig my night shirt from my pack and put it on. Hmm, obviously putting the food in my pack wasn't a good idea, since my shirt smells like meat and veggies. Only now do I become conscious of the pain in my hand. The teeth marks are bleeding, the gashes deep and the skin around them swollen. Gah, that hurts.

I quietly close the door behind me. Now to wash all this off me. Although I willingly gave myself to him so he could set things straight with Lily, at least in his mind, I can't help but feel used. Yes, I helped him, great. It wasn't as if he hurt me, or that it wasn't pleasurable physically. Mentally it just felt _wrong_. My body was merely a tool, a vessel. He didn't know what he was doing, yes, I know. Still. I'm never going to use that particular scented oil again.

Thankfully the guest bathroom is empty. I fill a bath with water and heat it magically, add plenty of foam. Playing with it might distract my troubled mind. Awesome how large these bathtubs are; large enough for two people. I slide into the water after taking off my shirt and furiously scrub the night's events off me, flinging foam and bubbles about the place.

And the best part about all this? I cannot speak to anyone else of it. It's not something that just comes up during conversations. Not to mention that it's also embarrassing. Morrigan would probably laugh at me for being such a soft-hearted sop, Leliana would be paralyzed with shock at the partial abuse and Alistair, well, I wouldn't even know how to address such a topic to him. Jowan would just have something else to feel guilty over. That's the last thing I want. So I guess this will simmer and fester inside of me until it rots away.


	4. Bubbles

_Thanks for the **overwhelming **responses so far! Haha, you know who you are.  
_

* * *

In the distance I hear sounds of a pair of bare feet approaching. Great. Jowan pokes his head into the area and grins upon seeing me sitting in the tub. "Hi." His voice sounds rather cheerful as he crouches by the side of the bath. His good mood helps in lifting my ill temper, if only a little. It's nice to help. "The bed feels empty without you." His cheerful tone turns to one of concern when he grabs my wounded hand. "How did this happen?"

"Don't worry about it." I snatch my hand from his grasp and dunk it under water. Ooh, that stings.

"Should I get you some salve for that, or something?"

I dismissively wave my hand. "Nah. Anyway, is there anything you need from me?"

"No." He blows a few stray locks out of his face. "I just missed you, that's all. You're not angry with me for falling asleep, are you?" His fingers reach out to trace the now pink scar on my cheek. "I'm sorry if that's the case; it's just that you make me feel safe. Your warmth brings me so much comfort, Tori." His eyes light up with the smile his mouth stretches into.

Boy, you don't know the half of it. "That's good to hear. You sure look happy."

"Do I?" His smile widens even further. "I had the best dream! Lily and I made love and she said she forgives me and that I should move on. Do you think this is some sign from the Maker?" Resting his head on the cool porcelain of the bathtub's rim, he looks up at me with pleading eyes. Pleading me to say that yes, it is a sign from the Maker.

I shrug noncommittally. "Who knows." I'm in no mood to humour him. Wish that I could pretend everything was peachy keen, but sadly I'm not cut out for that. I'm actually quite proud that I haven't shed a tear over what happened earlier. "All I know is that Lily is lost to you and dwelling over her isn't going to do you any good." It's a cold thing to say, but that doesn't make it any less true.

For only an instant, my friend looks angry. "That's harsh, Astoreth." Then the look in his eyes softens. "But you are right." He scoops up a bunch of foam and blows it from his hand. The next few moments are spent in silence; we both play with the bubbles, gradually draining the supply of foam. When it's all gone, Jowan says triumphantly: "Ha! I knew there was a naked woman under here somewhere."

His playfulness greatly improves my mood. I'll get over it. "You know what else is?" I grab him by the collar and pull him into the tub with a loud splash. "A clothed man!"

After thrashing about in surprise for a few moments, he relaxes and smiles. "You know, I'm not going to complain. I'm here with a beautiful naked woman, after all." His arms wind around my waist and pull me close to his body, his eyes intently looking into mine. My heart begins beating about ten times faster when he kisses me softly but urgently. Okay, now I'm definitely over it. I wrap my legs around him and easily flip us over, weightless as we are in the water.

This feels nice, being surrounded by warm water and the craving touch of a lover's hands. He seems to be particularly interested in grabbing my behind. The moment I interrupt our kiss to look down on his form, a whining noise escapes him. I have to admit that even though I like my men with more meat on them, he looks deliciously sexy with the fabric of his shirt clinging to his skin. Jowan isn't muscular, like Cullen or Alistair, but he is attractive in his own way. It makes me attack his lips with renewed fervour. This time he utters a content humming sound as our tongues stroke one another.

My fingers undo the laces that keep his pants closed; it seems more difficult in the water. But finally I manage to open them and slip my hand inside. Rock hard already; I can hardly wait to have him in me. So he mistook me for Lily in some kind of waking dream, why did I make such a big deal out of it? This is what matters, this right here, what we have now. Some kind of mixture between friendship and a sordid affair.

He moans softly into my mouth as my hand rubs his cock. I love how my fingers can only barely close around it. Suddenly he thrusts his fingers into me, causing me to moan and bite down into his lower lip. Sweet mercy, the boy knows what he's doing. And he does it well. I release his lip from between my teeth and taste his blood. His other hand creeps up my chest to knead my breasts and send little jolts of pleasure into my body. That is it, I cannot wait any longer.

There is no need to prepare, so I simply grab him at the base, brush his fingers aside and lower myself onto his cock in one smooth motion. A gasp tumbles from my lips upon feeling him fill me. "Oh Jowse, you're so big," I purr into his ear. A little compliment never hurt anyone, right?

"Really?" His voice sounds breathless, and as I hoped, flattered. "You are..." A few soft kisses down my throat, on my collar bone. "Just perfect."

Perfect? Excuse me? "Oh, well..." I bite my lip and feel the blood rush to my face. "That is awfully sweet of you."

"Yes, yes." His lips trail lower. "Less talking, more moaning." And moan I do, with the hard thrust upwards from my lover's hips. Fine, fine. I can take a hint.

I brace myself by holding onto the bathtub's rim and begin moving in tandem with his thrusts. Soon we have achieved a perfect harmony. The water sloshes with every movement of our bodies. I can feel his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, his hot mouth alternatively sucking on my nipples, nibbling on them. This is certainly making me moan all right. It's an all-out assault on my senses, apparently hell-bent on driving me insane with pleasure.

I wonder if it's as good for him as it is for me? As if to answer this unspoken question, Jowan raises his head and stares me in the face. His half-closed eyes are shining with a feverish passion, low moans and gasps coming from between his parted lips. Yes, it must be. I slide my tongue into his mouth and quicken the rhythm of my grinding hips. My lover allows me to take over and grabs a firm hold of my bum, content to focus on squeezing into it.

Oh Maker, this cock is so incredibly thick. I'm so lucky, so bloody spoiled. We simultaneously moan into each other's mouth with each thrust. An orgasm would make this even better. And so my right hand releases the tub and moves to my pulsating clit. A few flicks of my index finger and my entire body tenses. The forceful waves of bliss make it difficult to continue my riding motions, and perceptive as always, Jowan takes over. As soon as my muscles spasm around him, the unmistakeable throbbing begins. I lean back to watch him come.

With a last thrust so hard that it would send me flying to the ceiling if he weren't holding me, his mouth opens in a soundless scream, eyes squeezed shut. His body convulses for a few times, each convulsion accompanied by deep heaving of his chest. So beautiful; I just love watching this.

Soon his eyes open with a satisfied sigh. He gives me a quick peck on the nose, grinning contently. I untangle myself from around his body and move to sit beside him. The water has become rather cold.

"This is a nice way of spending my last days," Jowan drawls. He links his arm with mine and rests his head against me. "You are the best friend ever."

"Awww..." I giggle girlishly. "Well, you too."

He winces. "Ow, my lip is a bit tender." Upon closer inspection, I see it's swollen and still bleeding lightly.

"Tsk tsk, poor thing. Let me kiss it better for you." I press my lips to his and conjure the tiniest bit of healing energy into my touch. I don't necessarily need my hands for that. The blue light envelops the slight injury. When the light is gone, so is any trace of my teeth marks.

My friend chuckles. "That wasn't necessary, but thank you." With a sweet smile, he presses a kiss to the back of my hand.

I can't suppress the shudder that comes over me. "Now, shall we get out of here? It's getting cold."

He nods. "Agreed." Ever the gentleman, he gets out of the tub first to help me, even hands me the shirt I discarded earlier. From the looks he's giving me as we walk to my room, I don't think we will be getting much sleep tonight. And I wouldn't have it any other way.


	5. Payback

I yawn and stretch, expecting to find my friend's warm body in my bed. But he's gone, even though he is usually a much bigger sleepyhead than I am. I slept more than I thought I would; after we had sex for the fifth time or so, Jowan passed out from sheer fatigue. He was mumbling something about how I would be the death of him. Personally I would prefer dying from exhaustion caused by too many orgasms over any other way, but hey, that might just be me.

The tantalizing smell of freshly baked bread floats into the room, making my mouth water. I think I know where he went. His clothes are still in a crumpled, damp pile next to the bed; he didn't leave this room in the nude, did he? Oh dear. Sometimes the prospect of good food makes him forget everything else.

Quickly I slip into my underwear and robes to race to the dining room. Jowan is there, as I had thought, but thankfully he isn't naked. Whew. The table is littered with all kinds of food, their delicious smells filling the air. I don't get to see such luxury often these days. My friend seems too busy buttering slices of bread to notice me, but looks up when my stomach growls loudly.

"Well, someone is hungry." He smiles when I bend down to kiss his cheek. Ah, there is the stubble I know and love. It sure grows quickly.

I sit down and snatch a few slices from his plate. "Damn right." Ooh, it's still warm. Mmm. Sinking my teeth into the bread and chewing, I impolitely say with my mouth full: "You know, I happen to have clothes exactly like yours in my pack."

"Not anymore you don't," he chuckles. "I needed something to wear. You don't mind, do you?"

I shake my head and look him up and down. The robes I stole from Irving look like they were tailor-made for him. In regular clothes he looks cute and all, but like this? Rawr.

I can feel Alistair heading this way and an evil plot hatches in my brain. Today it's payback time. Soon my colleague walks in and sits down across from us, not at all surprised to find our prisoner here.

I wave at him. "Good morning, Alistair. Did you sleep well?"

"Morning. Yes! The beds here are great, don't you think?" He accepts the breadbasket Jowan hands him, thanking him with a nod. "Ooh, this smells good." His eyes close and a delighted expression appears on his face.

"It tastes good too!" Another slice of bread goes into my mouth. I better enjoy this while I can; who knows how much longer it will be before we get to have food that isn't stew? But now for my revenge...

My fingers walk a slow path up my best friend's thigh. He almost chokes on his coffee and gives me a shocked stare. "Something the matter?" I ask him sweetly.

"Uh, n-no..." he stutters. A blush creeps into his face when my fingers find their prize and slowly stroke it through the soft fabric of his robes. Looking over at Alistair, I can tell he's too busy enjoying his breakfast to notice what I am doing under the table. The boy is almost purring in joy with every bite he takes.

"So Alistair, which treaty do you think we should go after first: the elves or the dwarves?"

He looks up from his plate. "You mean, after we bring your friend back to the tower, right?"

"Yes, about that..." My stroking motions have made my friend grow quickly and so I close my hand around the shaft. "I had an idea."

Next to me, Jowan's breath hitches in his throat as I give his erection a little squeeze. From the corner of my eye I can see him firmly grabbing the edge of the table, his knuckles pale. That's what he gets from secretly fingering me in the presence of other people.

"Oh? Tell me." The handsome Warden has stopped eating and eyes me expectantly.

"Well, I think that going to Kinloch Hold at this point is an incredible detour that would cost us too much time. So what do you say we bring him along on our travels until we find we have no choice but to go there?" I do hope Alistair doesn't mind my plan; after all, we need all the help we can get and Jowan is a good mage.

Across from the table, my colleague eyes me incredulously. "Are you kidding? You promised arl Eamon you'd escort him to the Circle."

"So I did, but I didn't say when." I sigh and put on my saddest face. "Look, this guy has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. I would like more than just four days to say goodbye, you know?"

I stop my stroking, making Jowan sigh in relief. "What do you think, hmm?" I address him.

"Huh, what?" he replies vaguely. He stares at me in confusion.

I drape my arm around his shoulders. "Imagine: going to some far off place, you and me. Well, and the others. It will be just like old times!" My free arm makes a wide gesture. "Except that we will be outside, and there will be much more fighting. How does that sound?"

"Hmmm..." My friend chews his lip in contemplation. "I did always want to see the world..."

"Pleeease Alistair? Pleeeease?" I put on my best pout and wide eyes. "Pretty please?" Nudging Jowan, I tell him: "Come on you, make with the cuteness."

"The...? Oh, oh, right." He mimics my facial expression. Alistair looks at the both of us in turn, obviously wanting to say no, but struggling against our adorable little faces.

Eventually he sighs in defeat. "Maker's breath, I hate it when people gang up on me like that. Fine, we can bring him along for a while." The Warden shrugs. "After all, we have a qunari who murdered an entire family with us; what's another blood mage, right?"

I squeal in delight and clap my hands. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I run around the table to fling my arms around his neck and shower him with kisses. He weakly protests, but I can tell he likes it. When I'm done, Alistair awkwardly clears his throat and gets up.

"I'm ah, going to pack my things." Before almost running out the door, he says: "See you later then."

"Thanks again," my friend beams. "Say, are you two...?" he asks me a bit uncomfortably. What he means is obvious.

"Engaging in the four-legged frolic? Playing the national indoor game? Trading a bit of hard for a bit of soft? Is Alistair buttering Astoreth's bun, you wonder? Trust me, had it been the case, you'd have walked in on us doing just that last time." Hmm, having Alistair as a toy would be nice though.

Jowan gives me an incredulous look. "Maker's breath, girl, where did you pick up all of those dirty expressions?" Then he shrugs. "Never mind, I get what you mean anyway. You're not having an affair with him."

"So..." I lay my hand upon his leg once more. "What say you I finish what I started?" I look around and find us all by ourselves. "With my mouth?" Why am I even asking? I slide off my chair to crawl under the table and hike up his robes. Ooh, no smallclothes. How naughty.

Let's not keep this poor boy waiting, shall we? I curl my tongue around the tip of his erection and suck it into my mouth. From somewhere above me I hear a soft gasp, followed by a hand grabbing me by the back of the head. Immediately he pushes me down, urging me to go deeper and faster. I normally don't take orders from anyone, but somehow I like this.

Footsteps... This is exciting. What if someone catches me here? I will probably never hear the end of it, or maybe I will never be welcome in Castle Redcliffe again. The hand on the back of my head disappears and I can just imagine my friend trying to look serious. Revenge is mine.

"Good morning," I hear Leliana saying cheerfully. "Is Astoreth up yet?" The scraping of chair legs against the stone floor follows.

"Good morning. She is, but I think she went to the privy," my friend replies. His voice sounds steady. But do I detect just a hint of quivering? Hehehe...

I hear a noise that sounds like someone is buttering a piece of toast. "I see. She and you are very good friends, no?" Curious Leliana.

"We are. We've known each other most of our lives, so..." Apart from his slightly quickened breathing, one would probably never be able to tell he was being secretly serviced. When did I turn into such a freak? Why do I care? This is fun. Some women may not even do such things, but I just _love_ having a nice penis in my mouth.

"How sweet," our bard says with a smile in her voice. "If you don't mind me saying, at first I thought you were lovers."

Jowan makes a choking noise and coughs. Apparently he just took a bite of something. "No, no," he croaks.

Leliana giggles. "You cannot fool me. Just look at you, blushing, sweating and panting like a dog." Suddenly I feel her foot lightly kicking my backside. "Astoreth, you naughty girl! Now I know where all those marks on you came from last time." Her tone is one of approval mixed with naughtiness.

I release my friend's erection from between my lips and let my hand take over. "Don't tell anyone, Leliana. Please."

"Of course I will not," she chuckles in reply. "You helped me with Marjolaine, so I will not betray your trust. Let us speak later, yes?" The scraping noise indicates her getting up. "For now, darlings, enjoy your time together."

"Thank you," Jowan squeaks. When she is out of earshot (her footsteps faintly echo in the hallway) I continue using my mouth. He grabs me again to direct my speed. After a while he begins throbbing, and eventually his hands leave me. He must've come, but where is...? Nothing came out. Wow, I must've really drained him yesterday.

"Well, at least now you can walk out of here without pitching yourself a tent." I neatly smooth down his robes. "Is it safe to come out?"

"Yes. Here, let me help you." Jowan rises and moves back his chair to help me up. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't let a pregnant woman do this for me."

I wave my hand dismissively. "Don't be silly; I'm pregnant, not disabled."

He shakes his head, his face red as a poppy. "Maker's breath! Seeing how I will be travelling with you a while, things might get awkward with your friend there."

"No, don't worry. She won't say anything." I steal a quick kiss. "I'm going to pack my things too, see you later."

He nods and turns his attention to the remaining bread on his plate. "Sure." Already he has forgotten me in favour of his breakfast. Men.


	6. Righteous Grey Wardening

Well, bringing my friend along was received with mixed reactions. Wynne was wary, but not unkind; Leliana welcomed him as if he had never done anything wrong and as promised, said nothing about catching us at breakfast; Morrigan showed her usual cold disinterest; Stubbs sniffed him thoroughly before barking his approval; Sten protested about his use of blood magic and Zevran simply didn't give a fig. Jowan is kind of acting like a scaredycat, hiding behind me most of the time. Eventually everyone will get used to each other. Probably right before I hand him over to the Circle, but hey, life just isn't the same without a healthy amount of drama.

And now we're on the road again. We decided to go to Orzammar; it was a bit closer than the Brecilian Forest. I think; I'm not the best of map readers and distance guessers. As usually my good friend is walking beside me, clinging to my arm like a lifeline. This area is devoid of people, but for some reason, there's a man camped here. He cowers when we approach, but relaxes when we show him we mean no harm.

"You'll have to forgive me if I seem a bit nervous," he laughs. "Not many people travelling in this part of Ferelden. My mule got spooked by a wisp and ran off into the woods." The man sighs dejectedly.

"Why exactly are you here then?" Curiosity killed the cat, they say, but so far my curiosity has actually served me well. It might've been problematic were I a cat. Meow. Oh _no_!

"I'm waiting for my assistant to... Oh, you mean why I'm in this part of the country?" Bowing dramatically, he says: "Allow me to introduce myself: Felix de Grosbois, merchant and entrepreneur, at your service."

I could really go for some shopping right now. "Got anything to sell me?"

"Well, now that you mention it." The merchant perks up, grinning happily. "I have a control rod, for a golem. There's no point in me keeping it, since I'll never get to use it, but perhaps you could?" He eyes me hopefully.

"Right. What's the catch?" There is always a catch. _Always_. Especially if someone seems to be so eager to be rid of something.

Felix chuckles awkwardly. "Ah, the catch is that the golem didn't come with the rod. It's supposed to be in a village down south, waiting to be activated. Apparently the village is overrun by darkspawn. But that shouldn't be a problem for adventurous types like yourself, surely." When I don't immediately take the bait, he pleads: "Please? I don't want to lug around something that can be mistaken for a gemstone by some bandit. You can have the rod for free; what do you say?"

"A free golem? Sign me up." Golems are powerful, from what I've read. This has to be worth the trouble; if not, I'm going to be very cross.

The control rod is immediately pushed into my hands. "Good! The golem's in a town called Honnleath." I present him my map and the man marks the location. Just below Redcliffe. Where we just came from. Of course. "Just hold up the rod and say "_dulef gar_". That should wake it up. Hope it works, best of luck to you, have to go find my mule, goodbye now." And so Felix runs off into the woods. Strange man.

Alistair takes a look at the map. "We are going to have to backtrack for this, aren't we?"

"Yes. But it's a golem, man, a golem! We could really use it." I can't wait to see it.

The Warden scratches his head. "True enough. But what if it doesn't work? We'll have gone there for nothing."

"If it doesn't work, I'm going to find that Felix fellow and ram this up his ass." I inspect the rod; it's quite large, so it should be plenty unpleasant. "And besides, Honnleath is overrun by darkspawn. Maybe we can help any villagers that are still there."

"Time for some righteous Grey Wardening!" Alistair bellows. So off to Honnleath we go.

* * *

As night falls and we set up camp, Jowan suddenly realises he doesn't have his own tent or bedroll. Kind of makes you wonder where he slept when he got out of the tower. I bet Loghain caught him almost as soon as he ran out of the door and has been sleeping in prisons ever since. Well, of course I volunteered to share my tent with him. Leliana shot me a suggestive look and wiggled her eyebrows, but she is right. Apart from the obvious perks (lots and lots of sex), it will also help in keeping warm. Fereldan nights are cold.

So cold, that even close to the fire, I'm shaking like a leaf. I took up first watch, together with Zevran. I'm beginning to warm up to him, although I wish he would take his attempts to bed me elsewhere. "Ah, now I know," the elf suddenly pipes up. "The child, it must be your so-called friend's, Jowan, wasn't it?" His voice sounds triumphant.

"Yes, it's Jowan..."

"Ha! I knew it!" Zevran yells elatedly and jumps up. Some kind of victory dance follows with lots of hip shaking and foreign words I don't understand.

"Calm down." I hold up my hand. "I meant that, yes, you got his name right. But he's not the one who got me pregnant."

"Oh." Obviously disheartened, the assassin slumps down by the fire again. "Damn, I thought I had it."

His pouting face makes me smile. "Nope. And you're never going to guess it anyway. So why not give up?"

"But I really want to know!" He sighs dramatically. "I asked everyone but they wouldn't tell me. And Sten just thought you were fat."

Oh, did he now? I shrug. "It's my business, so it's up to me to tell you, if you make it worth my while. Let's trade, shall we?"

"I could always warm your bed, Warden." He almost purrs those words, accompanies it with a naughty wink. Oh my. I am quite tempted to say, "Yes Zev, please do me." I have the willpower of a potted plant.

I shake my head to clear it of the images of us rolling in the hay. Well, silk sheets actually. "No, nothing like that. I'd just like to touch your ears." For years I've looked jealously at the elegant ears the elves around the tower sported, wishing my own looked just as pretty. Never did I have the guts to ask one if I could touch them.

"My ears...?" The handsome elf eyes me incredulously. "Well, fine then. Go ahead." He moves closer to me and I immediately reach out to trace the outline of his ears. For some reason, he closes his eyes and sighs delightedly. Sensitive? Gah, but these things are awesome. They make me giggle like a little girl. "You know, I can do things with my tongue that would blow your mind..." Zevran suddenly says, his face only inches from mine. He smells like sweet spices. Cinnamon. And those lips! Yummy.

_No_, bad! I shuffle back a little. " No doubt you can." I clear my throat. "Well, back at Kinloch Hold I had an affair with a templar. The baby is his."

"A templar?" He chuckles. "Isn't it forbidden for mages and templars to associate like that?"

I shrug. "Isn't it forbidden to kill people? And get paid for it too?"

"True enough," the assassin laughs heartily. "You are full of surprises, dear Warden."

Oh boy, he doesn't even know the half of it. Most of the time I surprise _myself_.


	7. Darkspawn Paradise

In spite of my best efforts to be quiet, Jowan wakes up anyway. He smiles sleepily. "Hey, what took you so long?"

"First watch did, silly." Having thrown my robes off, I crawl into the bedroll and snuggle up to his warm body. Take that, Fereldan cold. His warmth soon chases away the chill that has nestled in my bones. Mmm, nice. "Well, goodnight."

"Oh..." His hand traces the curve of my behind. "Don't you want to...?" His voice trails off as his mouth finds the most sensitive spot in my neck, just where it slopes into my shoulder.

I somehow manage to bite back a moan. "I certainly do now." Quickly I peel off my panties and get onto my back, pulling him onto me. "Take me," I whisper into his ear.

And so he does. As always it feels fantastic, like he was made to fit perfectly in me. Honestly, if I had to spend the rest of my life like this, I would be happy about it. Afterwards he gives me a little peck on the nose and snuggles up to my back. I am content.

"Every time with you is so amazing," he whispers, nuzzling my neck. An arm drapes around my waist to lazily stroke my belly. "You're beautiful, sexy..."

"And _you_ are making me uncomfortable saying all that." I nudge him in the gut with my elbow.

My friend laughs softly. "Why? I'm surprised you don't have several men on each arm. Does nobody ever tell you how lovely you are, how tempting, how..."

"Oh, shut up you. Don't compliment me too much; I might get too big for my boots, you know?" Still, it makes me feel a little proud of myself.

"I wouldn't worry about that." He squeezes my nipple, making me gasp in surprise. "Maker's breath, you're so reactive. So different from Lily."

Hmm. I was hoping I could distract him from her, but alas. "Why? What was she like?"

"She was very quiet and passive during..." He coughs. "Relations."

His apprehension of calling a spade a spade makes me giggle. "Well, I..." Suddenly my baby stirs in my womb, making Jowan gasp in delight.

"It moved! Are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" Lily seems to be forgotten as he enthusiastically pats my stomach.

I shrug. "Don't know, really. Either is fine. It's all good as long as the child is not tainted."

"Tainted? How so?" he asks curiously.

Oh damn it, me and my big mouth. "Forget I said anything. I'm not supposed to tell."

"Fine, I'll leave you alone." For a while he is silent, content with caressing my belly and placing light kisses along the back of my neck. "Don't you ever wonder about us?" he suddenly asks.

I'd nearly fallen asleep. "Huh? What about us?" I yawn.

"What if we had fallen in love with each other instead of with them?" His voice sounds pensive.

When I turn to face him, his eyes are staring into empty space. "Well, let's see." How would that have been? "We would probably have been making eyes at each other during classes, passing notes and getting sent to Greagoir's office for it." The idea sounds rather appealing. It's true that such unions are generally frowned upon, but at least they're not outright forbidden. "We would hold hands, kiss awkwardly and then that magical first time. Clumsy, but nice."

My friend's mouth stretches into a dreamy smile. "Hmmm." He shakes his head vehemently and then the vacancy in his eyes is gone. "I feel so stupid. You were always there and yet ..."

"You know, someone once told me that if you keep dwelling on what if and what could've been, it will eat away at you. Forget about it, just..." I sigh and grab his hand to press my lips against his knuckles. "This is the way it is now. Nothing will change what we have done."

Jowan nods gravely. "You are right. Let's just go to sleep." His arms wrap around me, pulling me close to his warm body. "Goodnight, Tori."

"Goodnight, Jowse."

* * *

Honnleath. Darkspawn paradise, more like it. Thankfully there weren't many dead villagers around, so I take it most of them fled. The darkspawn, though many, were easily dispatched; Jowan (equipped with a spare staff I hadn't sold yet) pulled his weight too, flinging spells and bleeding all over the place. I know now where the scars on his hands and forearms come from.

Now that our battle in the village square is done, my friend is poking a dead hurlock with a stick. Obviously he is interested in these creatures he has never seen before.

"Come, let me take a look at your hands." I grab his free wrist and pull up his sleeve to begin cleaning his injuries.

Reflexively he jerks his arm upon feeling the sting of the disinfectant. "Ow! I'm fine, don't worry." Still poking into the corpse, he mutters: "So this is a darkspawn. Fascinating."

"You look pale. Do me a favour and conserve your blood. All right?" A dab of poultice on his cuts and he is good to go.

"I can handle it, really," he says, rolling down his sleeve. His other arm is next; this one looks a bit worse.

I disinfect his wounds and clear away the blood. "I know that, but still. Promise me you will only use blood magic in case of emergency. I didn't just bring you because you're my friend; I also brought you because you are useful. Understood?" There, all done. I look up to find a hurt look in his eyes.

He nods. "Fine, I promise." His injured feelings about my blunt remark are almost palpable.

"I'm sorry, I didn't..." Curse this foot in my mouth. "First and foremost you are my friend. I need you safe, because I care about you." Maker, I can feel the others watching us. They must be speculating about us as we speak. Don't they have anything better to do?

Jowan laughs, the sad look on his face gone. "If you put it like that... Thanks, I appreciate it." Suddenly he squints and stares at something behind me. "Ooh look, I bet that thing over there is your golem!"

"Ooh, my golem. Let's go!" We run over to the statue I see in the distance with arms linked.

"Now children, be careful," Wynne chides as we whizz past her. "Make sure not to trip over any darkspawn."

Alistair catches up with us and grabs my hand. "Wait for me!" He moves with ridiculous ease for someone who is covered by a large amount of metal.

I look to the men on either side of me. Mmm, now that would make for an interesting scenario. I mean the three of us, not just the two of them. Although that might be interesting too. Whew. Is it hot here, or is it just me?

"So..." I remove the control rod from my pack as we stand before the golem. I thought it would be huge, maybe ten feet tall. But I estimate it to be about Sten's height. Strange posture it is in, arms raised as if getting ready to throw something. A fit, maybe. It appears to be as solid as a rock, glittering crystals littered across its surface. Ooh, shiny. "What was the phrase again?"

"_You didn't write it down_?" Alistair frets. "I don't remember either!"

I roll my eyes. "Calm down! It will come to me eventually; something with a g. Or was it a d? Hmmm..."

"Amateurs," Jowan scoffs. He snatches the rod from my hand and holds it up. "_Dulef gar_!" he says with a tone of boyish hopefulness in his voice.

I snap my fingers. "Right! That was it." The golem isn't moving an inch though.

"_Dulef gar_!" my friend repeats, giving the rod a little shake. Still no reaction. "Aww..."

I grumble. So we got duped. "Well, Felix du Grosbois is going to get the beating of his life."

"Oh well." Alistair shrugs. "It happens. Let's look around, shall we? That open door over there is practically begging for us to come in." He points toward something that looks like a gaping maw into darkness. The place is infested with darkspawn; I can feel them from all the way over here. Time for more righteous Grey Wardening.


	8. A Great Threat to Birds

After having ploughed through some more darkspawn, we found a group of villagers hiding behind a magic barrier of some kind. They happily ran off into the village after we'd informed them that it is safe once more. All but one: the son of the golem's last owner as it turned out. Introduced himself as Matthias. Apparently some mage named Wilhelm owned and was killed by it. His wife sold the control rod with the wrong phrase. I read about one mage by the name of Wilhelm being involved in King Maric's rebel army. Could it be...? Nah.

As luck would have it, this Matthias knew the right phrase to awaken the golem. But as our shitty luck would have it, he would only give it up if we rescued his daughter. The girl went farther into the cellar, into Wilhelm's laboratory. Everyone he sent after her died. Wonderful! This journey is just full of adventures. Since my heart is set upon having that golem with us, I agreed we would help. And when all is said and done, it simply won't do to leave a little girl to her own devices.

Our trip through the laboratory was uneventful, apart from the few demons that attacked us. And there she is, the little girl. She appears to be talking to a cat. Ooh, a kitty! Stubbs growls at it menacingly; it would appear the legendary hatred between cats and dogs isn't exactly a lie.

"Oh look!" the child says as we approach. "Someone's come to play!"

I crouch so I am at her height. "It's good to know you're safe. Your dad is worried about you, you know. Let's go see him."

"No!" She shakes her head, pigtails swaying. "Kitty can't come and if I leave her, she'd be lonely."

"You are so kind, Amalia. I would miss you dearly if you left." The cat's voice is low and seductive. A speaking cat. With violet eyes. This demon must be in the cutest little vessel I've ever seen.

"What are you really, Kitty?" I ask her, scratching her between the ears.

The cat closes her eyes and purrs in delight. "I am a cat. Really."

"Of course. And I am the empress of Orlais," Jowan light heartedly jokes. But from the iron grip he has on my shoulder, I can tell this demon worries him a little.

"Let's get straight down to business, shall we? What do you want, Kitty?"

Kitty sighs. "I have been bound to this chamber for decades; it's maddening. Release me mortal, and allow me to see the world through the girl's eyes."

How predictable; she wishes to possess Amalia. This is kind of a dilemma. If I tell her no, she will probably be possessed right now and we would have to kill a child. "Fine. What do I have to do?"

* * *

"I hope you have a good reason for trying to free that demonic cat," Alistair hisses as we are looking at the wards that keep Kitty trapped. It's some kind of puzzle with moving tiles and fire.

I move so close to him that my lips brush his ear with every word I speak, my breasts ever so slightly grazing his arm. "Of course. I'm merely trying to buy time; I have no intention of letting her go."

"Oh, all right." His face is a deep red. Virgins; you have to love them. "Your friend is on a roll there."

It's true. Muttering under his breath, Jowan is busily sliding tiles back and forth. The goal seems to be to make a connection between the starting point and the end. As soon as that is done, a pinkish glow envelops the cat.

"Yes..." she mumbles triumphantly. "I can feel the magic fading!" Kitty is nearly moaning with joy. "I had forgotten how it feels to not be caged." Her form flickers between that of the orange cat and a scantily clad female with horns.

"Kitty?" Amalia asks anxiously. "What's happening?" The girl sounds afraid.

"A wonderful thing, my dear, for the both of us!" And with that the cat is no more, a seductive demon in its stead.

"Oh no, I don't think so. Hands off the girl, demon!" I point my staff at her.

Kitty's beautiful face twists into an expression of anger. "Betrayal! The girl is mine!" she roars.

"You're scaring me, Kitty!" Little Amalia is close to tears. "I won't let you inside me, I won't!" The girl runs away, leaving us alone with her former pet. The clatter of weapons being drawn rings in my ears.

* * *

"Exciting, isn't it?" I'm almost bouncing with nerves. Armed with the proper activation phrase, we stand before the golem once more. Matthias was grateful we killed the demon (no mean feat, that) and rescued his daughter, he gave us the code and they ran off. A happy ending, hooray.

"I'm not so sure about this," the other Warden grumbles. His arms are demonstratively folded.

I shrug. "Come on man, live a little. _Dulen harn_!"

For an agonizingly long moment, the golem stays still. But then we hear the sounds of a rockslide and its head moves. It stretches its stone limbs with a loud groan. "I knew someone would eventually find the control rod," it sighs. The voice isn't unpleasant and surprisingly lively for a stone creature. Actually I had not expected a golem to be so eloquent. "And _of course_ is it another mage. That is what it is, yes? Just my luck."

It must be talking about its former master. "Okay well, we can get acquainted on the way. Let's just get out of this place, shall we?"

"It... does have the control rod, doesn't it?" The golem curiously tilts its head, its voice unsure. "I am awake, so it must..."

I show it the item. "Yes, here it is."

"I see the control rod, yet I feel... Go on, order me to do something," it orders me anxiously. Ironic.

I have to order it something really outlandish; my honour commands it. "Do three cartwheels and land on your head!"

"Very cute." The golem makes a sound like a derisive snort. "I feel nothing, no compulsion to carry out its command. I suppose this means the rod is broken?"

Uh oh. "Great, you have free will. Congratulations. Would you like to come with us and rid Ferelden of the darkspawn?" No killing rampages, please. I've seen enough battle for today.

"Hmmm..." It taps its chin in contemplation. "I will follow it about then... for now. I am called Shale, by the way."

"Well Shale, it's a pleasure. My name is Astoreth..." I subsequently introduce everyone else. As we walk the dirt road that leads out of Honnleath, Shale complains about how the villagers treated it and its hatred of birds.

Aw, look at that chicken. It's staring intently at the road we're on; perhaps it is debating with itself whether to cross it? I have to say, I am anxious to get to Orzammar and see what awaits us there. Suddenly a loud thud resounds. I turn around to see the aforementioned chicken turned into a bloody mess of feathers and mangled... stuff, one of Shale's feet covered in gore. It shrugs noncommittally when I lock eyes with it.

Oh dear. Be afraid, birdlife of Ferelden. Be _very_ afraid.

* * *

_This was the last chapter of part 8, thank you for reading. The next part will be up soon. _


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